Captured
by Aqua111
Summary: After a Dark Legion team led by Lien-Da was attacked the Grandmaster disappeared. Days later Kragok suddenly gets a call from an unknown lady. He and the Legion only have 24 hours to fulfil the kidnappers' demands or else Lien-Da will be killed. But of course Lien-Da is no damsel in distress and tries to escape on her own.


Author's note: The follow-up story to "Loneliness". After a Dark Legion team led by Lien-Da was attacked the Grandmaster disappeared. Days later Kragok suddenly gets a call from an unknown lady. He and the Legion only have 24 hours to fulfil the kidnappers' demands or else Lien-Da will be killed.

But of course Lien-Da is no damsel in distress and tries to escape on her own.

Not much Lien-Da/Xenin in here but at least enough to notice that I simply can't write a story anymore with both of them appearing in it and not thinking of them as a couple.

End of author's note.

Slowly Lien-Da regained consciousness. She blinked a few times but all she saw was darkness. Unbelievingly she wanted to rub her eyes but something held her hands behind her back in a tight grip. String was painfully scuffing over her wrists.

How long had she been out cold? She remembered a few times when she had been half conscious but these were used to pour some water down her throat, probably mixed with the next dose of narcotics. From the emptiness and pain in her stomach she must have been out for at least two or three days. Where had they brought her or better yet why had they kept her alive after the attack on the camp? As far as she could remember the Egg Gunners had shot down every other Legionnaire but she had only been knocked out. If it still had been the robots who had taken her here - wherever here was - or someone else she didn't know. Everything that had happened between the attack and now was way too blurry. She tried to listen but there was only silence around her.

Xenin ran into the entrance hall as soon as he heard about the returning troop.

"Still nothing new?" he asked Kragok who only resignedly shook his head.

"If we had found out something then you would have been one of the first to get informed. And it's hard to find any tracks if all we have is a destroyed camp and a few dead Legionnaires. The attackers obviously came out of nothingness and disappeared into nothingness."

"Shouldn't we also ask the Guardians for help? They have their own ways to observe Angel Island and Mobius Prime. I know you don't like that idea but..."

The Grandmaster let out a bitter laugh. "Do I really have to sink that deep and inform Guardians about that? But if we don't find her soon I'm afraid we won't have any other choice."

Xenin only nodded. Normally he also didn't like the idea of an alliance with the Guardians and only accepted it because it had been Lien-Da's idea but in this case he immediately would take their help - everything just to save Lien-Da's life. But he also had to accept Kragok's choices. He was a Grandmaster after all.

Finally Lien-Da managed to sit up a bit. The narcotics still hadn't fully lost their effect and furthermore the lack of food and water had weakened her. She closed her eyes and leaned her head against the wall. Of course the Legion would already search for her now but how should they ever find her?

A loud bang made her wince and she opened her eyes wide although she still wasn't able to see anything in the darkness. Steps were coming closer and then the door was torn open. Blinded by the bright light coming from the outside Lien-Da closed her eyes but then opened them slightly again to see who was about to come in. She somehow knew this large, bulky figure. Wasn't he once a member of the Fearsome Foursome? Sergeant Simian, if she remembered his name correctly.

The Sergeant walked into the room and pulled a string at the ceiling which caused a light bulb to flash. Now Lien-Da could have a closer look at her prison. An old table, some chairs, a half destroyed bed but nothing more was in this room.

"Why have you brought me here?" Lien-Da asked. Her voice sounded rough and it was hard to speak.

Simian gave no answer, walked over to her and knelt down beside her. He opened the cap of a water bottle and brought it to Lien-Da's lips.

"Time for your ration", he said, "We can't let our Grandmaster die of dehydration though I think only your Legion might care if you did."

Probably the water was mixed with another dose of narcotics but Lien-Da had no other choice than drinking it if she didn't want to die of thirst. But this time the awaited effect failed to appear. The bottle contained only water.

After the bottle was empty Simian stood up and wanted to leave the room again.

"If you already don't want to tell me why I'm here, can't you at least loosen these strings?" Lien-Da called him back. The fibre was already cutting into her flesh.

He really came back but as soon as he knelt beside her again another voice, a female voice, called, "What are you doing? You should only give her some water, not free her."

Simian looked up to the fox who had just come into the room.

"I only wanted to loosen the cord a bit, Fiona", he answered.

"Are we a hotel where all our guests' wishes are fulfilled or what?" Fiona coolly said.

"Well, I guess though severing my hands might sound funny at first", Lien-Da brought out through gritted teeth, "cleaning up the bloody mess isn't so much fun. So will you kindly loosen these things?"

"Oh, of course, honey", Fiona said, put on a sweet smile and sat down beside the Grandmaster. But then she grabbed Lien-Da's wrists, jerked them to one side and twisted her arms behind her back. Lien-Da cried out in pain.

"You're only speaking when we allow you to do so, got it memorised, bitch?" Fiona hissed and pushed her back to the floor. "Come on Searge, I guess we have some better things to do than to stay with this scum the whole time."

They left the room without even a last gaze on Lien-Da who was lying coiled up on the floor, waiting with clenched teeth for the pain to stop.

Probably the after effects of the narcotics were the reason she had dozed off but she immediately was wide awake when she heard steps coming closer. The door slammed open and three persons entered the room – Fiona, Simian and a green hedgehog with sunglasses and a black leather coat.

Simian dragged Lien-Da to the damaged bed then the three Destructix members sat down on the chairs in front of her.

"I'm sorry that we can't have our little meeting around the table but unfortunately we don't have enough chairs", the hedgehog said with a sly grin, "and I'm afraid if we moved the table or the bed they would completely crash. Anyways, our client thinks you have been held captive for long enough and wants to make you an offer, my dear Lien-Da. I hope you won't mind if I don't call you Grandmaster because that sounds too formal to me."

"I hope you won't mind if I called you Bucket of Slime", Lien-Da answered.

The hedgehog chuckled.

"Snarky as always, that's what I like about you. But I prefer to be called Scourge, Grandmaster."

"So whoever your client is, what does he want from me? And be prepared for a no."

"But he will grant you freedom. All you have to do to get out of here is to swear undying loyalty to Finitevus."

"Finitevus can shove his loyalty to where the sun never shines."

Fiona showed her sweetest smile again. "What harsh words from our little Legion princess. But in that case we still have our plan B. Thank goodness the Legion is now commanded by more than one Grandmaster. Let's see how much you're actually worth to your brother."

This time Xenin was with the investigation troop. Nothing could have held him in the base anymore.

Since the camp had been attacked by Egg Gunners every track led to Robotnik but the spies from Robotropolis also had no news.

"It would take years to search whole Mobius", Kragok said and when he noticed Xenin's gaze he added, "I want to give up as less as you but our chances to find her are close to zero. Besides, who knows if they won't change their location every now and then? Or maybe they are somewhere underground."

He was interrupted when his communicator went off.

"Any news?" he answered it assuming it was one of the Legionnaires.

"Oh, we actually have very good news for you", an unknown female voice answered.

"Who are you?"

"My name is not important but I'm with someone you probably know."

Kragok and Xenin exchanged glances then the Grandmaster said, "If you are talking about Lien-Da…"

"Bravo, the candidate won hundred points. I actually called you to make you an offer. We will let her go but only if the Legion will work for Finitevus from now on. I know this is a hard decision so I will give you a little time to think it over. 24 hours will be enough."

Kragok's eyes narrowed. "Tell Finitevus he can stuff that up his fourth point", he growled.

Xenin had clenched his fists and bared his teeth. "If you have only laid one finger on Lien-Da I swear I will find you and you will pay dearly for it", he brought out.

The female only laughed. "Put a cork in it. You won't find us anyways. So remember – 24 hours or else we can't guarantee you will see her alive again. If she's really dear to anyone's heart – which I highly doubt – you should better join Finitevus."

Kragok just wanted to reply but the female already had shut the connection down.

"What now?" Xenin asked worriedly.

"Of course we will never join Finitevus. That would be like choosing sudden death for us all. But now we only have 24 hours to scan whole Mobius for Lien-Da. That only leaves one option."

"The Guardians?"

The Grandmaster sighed resignedly. "The Guardians."

"Why don't you simply join Finitevus? It would save us all a lot of trouble", Scourge said. The other two had already left the room but he had stayed back.

"We already have worked together with him once", Lien-Da answered, "That short period of time was enough to find out he only uses his allies and will stab them in the back as soon as they lose their usefulness to him. His only goal is to destroy all living beings and the three of you won't be an exception. Consider this a warning although you haven't deserved one."  
Scourge raised an eyebrow. "That must be an Echidna problem then. You never seem to get along with anyone too well. Finitevus hired us, he rewarded us for everything we did for him and he also helped us out a few times. I guess he wouldn't have done that if he wanted to see us dead."  
The Grandmaster shook her head. "You have no clue..."  
The hedgehog suddenly showed a strange smile. "Well, I might not know Finitevus too well but therefore I know some other things." He slowly walked towards Lien-Da. "Things you might just love to experience as well."  
He knelt down on the bed, practically crawled on top of her.  
"Your girlfriend won't like that, provided that Fiona really is your girlfriend", Lien-Da said and tried to back away even further until she was with her back to the wall.  
"Oh, she's very open minded in that case", Scourge simply answered and then he started kissing Lien-Da.  
A feeling of sickness overcame her and first she only wanted to struggle free of his grip at any cost but she forced herself to remain calm. That could actually be helpful...  
'Forgive me, Xenin', she thought and returned the kiss.  
"You know, I'm longing to have you", she said breathlessly, "But it will only be half the pleasure as long as these strings are still cutting into my wrists. Get these things off and I promise you will experience something you won't forget that fast."  
"No problem", Scourge answered, dragged a knife out of his pocket and cut the strings.  
Lien-Da barely had the time to rub her sore wrists, let alone stretching her arms before the hedgehog leaned over her and attacked her lips again but this time she didn't return the kiss. Instead she carefully moved into a better position. And then with all her strength she rammed her knee between Scourge's legs.  
The hedgehog doubled over in pain, she pushed him off her and the bed and jumped up. For a second her legs wanted to give in and she felt as if she was about to vomit but she quickly pulled herself together again and started running. Out of the room and then upstairs. She pushed open a moss covered trapdoor, climbed out of the underground bunker and now found herself in the middle of the forest. Quickly she looked around but everything looked so unfamiliar. This was no place on Angel Island. Neither Fiona nor Simian could be seen but she was sure they weren't too far away and could return any second. Which direction should she head for? On the path they would find her the fastest so she ran deeper into the woods. Behind her she heard a shotgun blast but she didn't turn around to see how far away her persecutors actually were - it only would have cost her precious seconds. The approaching dusk gave her some additional cover.

She stumbled over roots or slid down smaller hills, wood and gravel grazed her skin but each time she quickly got up again and continued running. Just wanted to get out of this forest.

Slowly her powers were fading. Between the roots of a large tree she broke down and tried to catch her breath again. With each little sound every muscle in her body tensed and she was ready to either attack or flee but so far she only had heard the sounds of the nightly forest. Not one sign from her followers.

After a few minutes she forced herself up again. Her body was still screaming for some rest but she couldn't risk staying in one place for too long. In the night it was even harder to find her way but she kept on moving. And then when her legs were close to giving in again she found something she would least have expected now - a jeep with the label of the EST at the sides. No one was sitting inside but it looked as if it hadn't been left too long ago. Carefully she walked closer to it and looked around if the owner was anywhere nearby but when she couldn't see or hear anyone she simply grabbed the transmission device.

"Hello? Can you read me? This is Lien-Da, Grandmaster of the Dark Legion."

"Lien-Da?" she heard from the other end of the line. "Why are you calling from the one vehicle where we just got the message that..."

"Listen, I don't have much time for explanations. I just narrowly escaped from an underground bunker and now I'm in the middle of an unknown forest."

"Wait, I can look up your exact position."

"I rather could need some back-up."

That moment she felt the cold metal of a gun against the back of her head.

"You shouldn't have done that, sweetie", Scourge whispered into her ear and cut the wire of the radio device.

Over, it was all over. Lien-Da could have screamed with anger and disappointment. There was no way she could escape another time. She was exhausted, several cuts on her skin were bleeding, she had no food for days and could barely stand upright anymore. Scourge on the other hand was still rested and the other Destructix members were probably not too far away.

"The others are still taking care of the dead cop", the hedgehog said as if he had read her thoughts, "but they also will be here soon. Get moving. You had the strength to run so now the walk back won't be too much for you either."

As soon as they had returned to the Dark Legion base Kragok and Xenin rushed to the communication centre. Their call was immediately answered by Locke. The Guardian looked surprised.

"Kragok? I didn't know the news would spread that fast. Just wanted to give you a call and tell you about it."

"Tell me about what?" Kragok asked. "I haven't heard any news and actually wanted to ask for your help."

"Remington contacted me. One of the EST members who had been deployed close to Albion reported that he had heard shots and wanted to check it. Just a few minutes later Lien-Da contacted the EST headquarters, said that she escaped from an underground bunker and needed back-up but then the connection was interrupted. The Constable immediately sent out an investigation team but they only had found the dead cop, not a single trace from Lien-Da."

"The location", Kragok urged, "Where did they have the last contact with Lien-Da?"

"As far as I know in the forest southeast of the Emerald Sea, five miles from the shore."

Kragok switched off the screen.

"Xenin, I want you and Charon to accompany me there. I can't and don't want to take a whole army there but each of you two is a small army on his own."

Lien-Da was pushed down the stairs of the bunker and landed hard on the stone floor. She tried to get up again but Fiona was immediately at her side and rammed her foot into Lien-Da's stomach.

"You idiot! You complete idiot!" she shouted. She grabbed Lien-Da's hair and dragged her head up. "Do you even know what you have done?"

"As long as it harmed you I'm happy with it", the Grandmaster brought out between clenched teeth.

Fiona pushed her back down and Lien-Da's face hit the floor. The pain made her gag and dots were dancing before her eyes.

"You're lucky that Finitevus still thinks you could be useful", the fox said, "Because if it was for me you already would have died days ago."

But Lien-Da barely heard her before everything went black before her eyes.

The Dark Legion hovercraft landed in the forest and between the surprised EST members. Remington ran closer.

"Kragok, what the heck are you doing here? This is a restricted zone. We can't allow you to run around here."

"This is Dark Legion matter, boy", Kragok snarled, "You can't tell us anymore that we have to stay out of this as long as a Grandmaster is still in danger. We won't leave before we found her."

"And what do you think we are doing here? We also still have to solve a murder and a mysterious disappearance and don't need a bunch of overreacting Legionnaires to run around and destroy possible tracks."

Xenin had held himself under control for days but now his feelings unloaded in a fit of rage. He lunged at Remington, grabbed his collar and lifted him up. Several weapons were drawn and pointed at him but he ignored them completely. How much damage could they do on him anyways?

"Overreacting?" he shouted. "Lien-Da disappeared, for days we don't know if she's even still alive, we even have to be glad about being blackmailed into joining Finitevus by someone we don't know because that at least was a sign that she's alive and then she finally manages to escape and the only people she was able to contact are just standing around a dead body instead of searching the forest and call that an investigation. And you think we're overreacting?!"

The cyborg now looked as if he was ready to rip Remington into pieces.

"Xenin! Put him down at once!" Kragok sharply said. "This is not the time to start a war. Besides we still need him."

At first Xenin hesitated but then he slowly let go of him.

Remington rubbed his throat.

"What do you want?" he asked.

"I want you and your people to spread out. There must be an entrance to an underground bunker somewhere and we need to find it."

"In the middle of the night? We don't even have any tracks yet we could follow."

"It has to be. We were only given 24 hours and have already lost some of them. Lien-Da will be killed when the time has run out."

Remington nodded. "Understood. My people will be out."

"And I think we now could need some more Legionnaires after all."

Not even half an hour later the forest was in an uproar. EST members and dozens of Dark Legionnaires had swarmed out.

Lien-Da slowly regained consciousness. Her whole body was hurting. No one had tied her up again and it also wouldn't have been necessary since she didn't even have enough strength left to do more than sit up a bit.

"Finally you've awaken. I already thought Fiona managed to kill you."

Sergeant Simian had remained in the room as a guard. He leaned against the wall and coldly looked down on her.

"You wish..." Lien-Da mumbled.

"No, I can't wish for it as long as Finitevus still needs you alive."

Lien-Da snorted. "And of course his little slaves are doing everything the master wants. But unfortunately they let their captive starve to death so I don't think he will be too pleased about that."

"Here, catch it if you can. Nothing happens before Finitevus says so."

The thing that landed in her lap looked like a piece of bread. For a while Lien-Da only stared at it. Alms from one of her kidnappers... But if she wanted to survive she had to swallow her pride.

"Why do you even work for Finitevus?" she asked a while later. "You are a soldier too so why are you throwing your pride away and work for that scum."

"I am loyal to my friends. If I left Finitevus I also would leave them while they could still need me and my strength which isn't honourable either", Simian replied. "Besides I'm not dumb. I know what happens to those who are standing on the wrong side and try to fight him."

Before Lien-Da could respond the trapdoor closed with a bang and Fiona and Scourge came down the stairs.

"We have a massive problem", the hedgehog said. "The forest is full of cops and Legionnaires."  
"And what now?" Simian asked.

Fiona shot Lien-Da a glare. "I think I have an idea. It has been her fault after all..."

Charon crouched down and examined the floor around a tree.

"Someone had been here not too long ago. The tracks are leading to the jeep but if we can find out where they had been coming from we will probably find the bunker."

"Are you ... are you really sure?" Xenin asked. Actually he wanted to suppress the little flame of hope - without hope it would be easier to deal with the next hit of disappointment - but he still couldn't prevent it from burning stronger when Charon also found foot prints that definitely belonged to a female.

That moment Kragok's communicator beeped and Xenin felt his insides freeze when they heard the same voice they already had heard during the call a few hours ago.

"That was no good idea, Kraggy."

Kragok bared his teeth. "Shinginta", he hissed.

"Your people already have tried to frighten us with death threats but so far it only had been steam. I'm rather assured that you will run out of time. But where are my manners? I'm sure your dear sister also wants to say something to you for a change, wouldn't she?"

"Hey, Kragok, I'm fine. Only the room service over here leaves a lot to be desired", now Lien-Da's voice was heard. She sounded weak but it was a good sign that she hadn't lost her wit.

"Whatever", the other female voice said again. She seemed to be a bit pissed after Lien-Da hadn't sounded the way she wanted her to sound. But what had she expected? That a Grandmaster would lie whimpering on the floor crying for help?

"Care for a little game of Russian Roulette, Kraggy? One gun and only one bullet. The chance that the bullet's in the barrel is just 1:5 but you're not always lucky. I'm counting down and either the cops and your soldiers have disappeared before I have reached zero or I will pull the trigger. How lucky do you feel today?"

Kragok, Charon and Xenin exchanged gazes but no one could say a word.

"Five."

They desperately tried to find a way out of this even though they knew there was none.

"Four."

They were so close but still so far away.

"Three."

No matter how they would decide, in the best case they would give Lien-Da only a few more hours to survive.

"Two."

Unless of course they now decided to join Finitevus.

"One."

"Alright, stop it", Kragok shouted, "I tell them to leave."

He borrowed Charon's communicator so that the kidnapper also could hear what he was saying.

"Remington, tell your team and the Legionnaires that the search is over. We have to quit the whole action."

"But why?"

"Because I don't think any of us want to find a second corpse in this forest. Just do it or else Lien-Da's life will be in even graver danger."

A few seconds passed until the Constable's answer came. "Alright, we draw back."

"That's good, Kraggy", the female said again, "But remember, you still haven't told us if you want to join our client now or not. The clock is still ticking." With that the connection ended.

With a content smile Fiona tossed the mobile radio to the side while she still pressed her gun against Lien-Da's temple. It would have been more pleasurable if the Grandmaster also showed some fear and not simply kept her eyes closed but it was still a great feeling.

Lien-Da tried her best not to show a single sign of fear though she was sure that the pounding of her heart could have been heard in the whole forest and she could barely breathe anymore.

'Just pull the damn trigger', she thought, 'Make this nightmare come to an end.'

She would never leave this bunker alive.

She would never be able to see anyone of the Legion one more time.

She could never lie in Xenin's arms again.

Slowly Fiona pulled the trigger. A loud click broke the silence. The fox laughed.

"Guess you were lucky this time."

She turned and walked back to her team members but then she suddenly spun around again and fired. A deafening bang echoed through the room and let Lien-Da wince. When she carefully opened her eyes and turned her head she saw the bullet in the wall only a few centimetres away from her. Now she was shivering - of fear but mainly of anger.

When Fiona just wanted to give another snarky remark Scourge noticed that the mobile device was blinking and answered it. Lien-Da couldn't hear what the caller said but from the look on the hedgehog's face it wasn't good news.

"That was him", Scourge said when the call was over. "He doesn't think Kragok would give up that easily. We shall bring her to him and he will end this his own way."

Xenin slammed his fist against a tree trunk and smashed it into little pieces.

"We were so close, so damn close and now we're forced to give up and go back to zero."

Charon put a calming hand on his shoulder.

"Hey, who said we now really give up? It's not over before the fat lady sings, am I right?"

"Who are you calling a fat lady? But yes, he is right", Kragok said, "I just called back the cops and the majority of the Legion but that doesn't mean we won't continue our search. Charon, I hope you haven't lost the track."

The Legionnaire knelt down again.

"No, it's still there."

Xenin looked up and the little flame started glowing again.

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go."

They had followed the track for a little while when it suddenly stopped. The sign for a hidden trapdoor and it also didn't take them too long until they had found and opened it. The room at the bottom of the narrow staircase was still lit up but it was empty.

"There's blood on the floor", Charon said. "Not much. I think it could have come from cuts."

Xenin pulled a bullet out of the wall and threw it to the ground. They were too late. How much he was longing for a valve for his feelings even if that meant he had to destroy the whole bunker. Not even Kragok stopped him when he grabbed the old table and threw it against the wall.

"Take the bed", Charon suggested bleakly. "Then you at least have more to destroy."

Kragok had leaned against the wall and blankly stared at the bed so far but his eyes widened when Xenin dragged the furniture away from its original position. He quickly went to that location and knelt down.

"There's another trap door in the stone floor", he called, "Xenin, help me remove it."

Xenin didn't even try to lift it but slammed his fists right into it. The stone was crushed into pieces and uncovered another short staircase down.

The Grandmaster let out a laugh. "This time we want to hear the fat lady sing. Charon, just in case we need backup, call back some of the Legionnaires. And Remington too - I guess the boy will be happy when he has more stuff to investigate. So if you're done dealing with your anger issues, Xenin, follow me."

Charon ran through the dark forest. The EST and the Legionnaires had the order to wait close to the jeep but that still was a good while away and with his heavy armour he never had been one of the fastest runners. Sometimes he could have cursed the scientists for only upgrading it to a stronger type but never a faster one.

He suddenly stopped. Steps were heard in the darkness and he was sure it wasn't one of the Echidnas coming closer. Were the kidnappers now really trying to come for him just because he was alone and didn't carry a gun? What a bunch of idiots...

He now saw two figures, one of them large and bulky, the other about his own size.

"Well, well, what do we have here", Scourge drawled and carelessly played with his knife. "An Echidna who is all alone in the forest. Are you lost?" He chuckled. "What do you think, Searge, shall we show him the way out?"

"You two are members of the gang who kidnapped Lien-Da, aren't you?" Charon snarled and clenched his fists. "Kragok could only warn you but I am the one who will make you pay for real now."

Simian only laughed. "You don't even have a weapon so how will you be able to fight us?"

A little smile wandered over the Echidna's face. "Yes, I know that I will have to fight you with my bare fists. But don't worry, I'll try to hold myself back and won't kill you. At least not too fast."

Xenin followed the barely lit corridor. He and Kragok had separated when the corridor had split. It already felt as if he had been walking for half an eternity and he slowly started to worry if this only was a trap or a distraction and the kidnappers had actually taken Lien-Da with them deeper into the forest but then he turned around a corner and stopped so sudden as if he had walked into an invisible wall.

Finitevus and Fiona stood in the middle of the corridor mocking grins on their faces. The albino's fingers were tightly wrapped around Lien-Da's arms. The Grandmaster had hung her head and closed her eyes. She had several bleeding wounds and she had to use the last of her strength to stand upright but at least she could still stand. Nothing could have forced her to kneel before Finitevus as long as she was still alive.

When she heard someone coming closer she lightly lifted up her head.

"Xenin..." she whispered and tried to smile.

"Ah, finally someone is here to rescue our little Legion princess", Finitevus sneered. "I already was afraid our door was hidden too well for you."

"Let her go", Xenin growled and slowly walked closer, "Or I'll rip your damn heads off."

"Oh yes, let your anger burn, let it slowly take control of you", the albino said, "But be assured that we are both armed. Maybe we can't stop you with that but we can kill her. You can attack us if you really want but this will only lead her to a faster death."

The cyborg stopped and only shot them angry glares. Then he noticed someone else in the darkness of the corridor behind them. Could it be Kragok? If it really was him he had to draw his enemies' full attention on himself.

"I offer myself in exchange for her", he said, "If you let her go I'm all yours, doctor, and you can do with me whatever you want."

Lien-Da shot him a desperate gaze. "No, please don't do this", she silently said but her words were nearly drowned by Finitevus' and Fiona's laughter.

"You really seem to care a lot for that bitch", Fiona mockingly said.

"Then show me how much you actually care", Finitevus added.

For a moment Xenin hesitated but then he lowered his head, fell down to his knees and propped up on his arms.

"Please ... release her..."

"Hey, Snow White!" someone suddenly called from the other part of the corridor. The fox and the albino Echidna spun around and Kragok fired his gun. Quickly Finitevus activated a Chaos shield and Lien-Da used this little moment of inattention to ram her elbow into Finitevus' stomach and stumble into Xenin's arms. Fiona and Finitevus both immediately sent blasts after her but Xenin quickly turned around to shield her and they only hit his back.

"Here, take my gun. I don't need it anyways", the cyborg said and shoved his weapon into Lien-Da's hands. "You take care of that fox and I'll go for the doctor."

He rushed towards Finitevus. The albino fired a Chaos blast at him but that attack didn't even slow Xenin down. He grabbed Finitevus' chest fur and slammed him against the next wall. But before he could start another attack the doctor used one of his Warp Rings and was swallowed by the portal that opened in the wall behind him.

"Coward, come back here!" Xenin shouted but the portal already had closed and only left back the naked wall.

Fiona had been able to dodge a few blasts that had been fired at her by both Grandmasters but then her side was hit. With a cry of pain she broke down to the floor, hand clasped on a bleeding wound.

"You are finished", Lien-Da snarled and aimed her gun at Fiona's head but exactly that moment another warp gate opened under the fox and she fell into it.

Lien-Da cursed. "Not again! We are always so close and then they still manage to flee."

"Maybe the next time", Kragok said.

Now they could hear steps coming from both halves of the corridor. Either Remington and his EST or some Dark Legionnaires were on their way but there wasn't too much left for them to do. And then they heard Charon's voice. It sounded as if he tried to sing. At first Kragok shot Xenin and Lien-Da unbelieving gazes but then he started laughing.

"Our fat lady sings!"

Lien-Da tried to smile as well. Now that it was over she fully realized how weak she actually felt. Her legs gave in but Xenin caught her, lifted her up and carried her in his arms.

"There's nothing left for us to do. Let's get home."

Some hours later.

Carefully Xenin entered the room of the sick bay.

"Hey, how are you feeling?" he asked.

"A bit better now after they had taken care of my wounds", Lien-Da replied, "And I never noticed how good our food actually could taste." She silently laughed.

Xenin gave her a kiss then sat down beside her.

"You have been great down there. From what I have heard the Destructix still would have needed years if they actually had wanted to break you."

"Well you learn a lot if you were born to the house of Dimitri and had to fight for your position for years. I just wished I had the chance to take revenge on them."

"Unfortunately neither we nor the EST could find a trace from Finitevus or Fiona. Scourge and Simian had been imprisoned but it's only a matter of time until they get out again and disappear as well."

Lien-Da sighed. "Looks like Finitevus now also has some loyal allies. Will this never be over?"

Xenin stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Maybe if Charon gets a sex change and the weight of a sumo wrestler..."

The Grandmaster laughed. "You will never let him live it down anymore, won't you?"

"Well, even the best warriors need some fun and laughter sometimes." And then sounding a bit more serious he added, "And why worry about the future? What I learned during my time in the Legion is to live in the present because you never know how much time you have left." He felt for her hand, wrapped his fingers around hers. "But I hope we will still have a lot time with each other."

Lien-Da lightly smiled at him. Yes, why worry? Finitevus would strike back sooner or later and then they also would get another chance for revenge. Life would continue as usual.


End file.
